I finally did it - cut out the commercials from some DVDs that I burned with a Panasonic DVD recorder. I did install an LG GSA-H55L optical drive in my PC. So far I tried 2 different software products from Womble during their 30 day trial period, their MPEG-VCR and MPEG Video Wizard DVD.

I have been given software suggestions from several people & do not mean to slight anyone. I do plan on trying other recommendations also, but I had to start to somewhere and this is where I jumped in.

The VCR version is basic and not as smooth and accurate as the Video Wizard DVD version. The Video Wizard DVD also lets you burn a DVD right from it & is really the better choice between the two even though it costs more.

I used DVD-R and DVD-RAM discs that I made with my Panny recorders, both ES20 and EZ17. DVD-R discs will probably have the video split up into several files if your movie is long. I’m not sure how or if Video Wizard DVD can import these as one large file. But I’m sure you can combine after editing the commercials. I used another program to import the video as one file.

DVD-RAM was actually easier to import because the video is only one file to begin with. I just copied it to my PC’s hard drive. I was previously thinking that RAM would be problematic and that a lot of software would not be able to handle it. And that I might have to start using RW discs for some programs. But so far RAM is the way to go, at least for me.

The MPEG Video Wizard DVD does way more than I need. You can do authoring & titles & different effects. I just wanted to edit out commercials & it does this very nicely. So if anyone wants to edit any of the DVDs they recorded, try this program for 30 days free. Some of the instructions did not seem intuitive, but after a bit of playing around I learned some of the basics. The 178 page PDF manual is available online at
http://www.womble.com/products/index.html

Womble is well respected, but if I was spending that much on an authoring tool it would be TMPGEnc-Author.

If you just want to do basic stuff, you might also want to check out VideoRedo (www.videoredo.com), since it has some nice features for autodetection of commercials and frame-accurate editing. Since I already had Nero 7, I use it for importing DVD-RAM discs to my computer and final authoring; VideoRedo Plus is used just for removing commercials. I've never tried it, but it appears that VideoReDo TVSuite may allow you to do everything from one application.

BTW, the reason that I use Nero to import a DVD-RAM (rather than simply copy the ".vro" file to my hard drive) is that it automatically saves individual recordings (which can have different bit rates, i.e. recording modes) into separate ".mpg" files. IIRC, VideoRedo Plus treats a ".vro" file as one continuous recording and, in addition, has problems if the bit rates are different for individual segments. (If no idea whether VideoReDo TVSuite is any better in this respect.)

Tony

Womble is well respected, but if I was spending that much on an authoring tool it would be TMPGEnc-Author.

Ditto.
It may not be the fanciest, but TMPGEnc is far more stable than the others I've tried. I don't think I've ever managed to do more than a trivial project with Nero's authoring tools without having it go wrong.

Ditto.
It may not be the fanciest, but TMPGEnc is far more stable than the others I've tried. I don't think I've ever managed to do more than a trivial project with Nero's authoring tools without having it go wrong.

The biggest difference, and this is huge, is that TMPGEnc will NOT re-encode DVD-Video compliant MPEG when authoring. It re-encodes the edits only. I can't say if Womble has this distinction or not, but it's important to have if you want to maintain max PQ. It also lets you change aspect flags without re-encoding.

I also wouldn't use Nero for anything. It re-encodes everything, and not very well. TMPGEnc will also separately import each session from a RAM (VR) disc.

Womble has something akin to smart rendering, in that it only renders what has been changed (e.g., edits, transitions, etc.), but not the original unaltered MPG footage. So, no, essentially, Womble does not re-encode.

The biggest difference, and this is huge, is that TMPGEnc will NOT re-encode DVD-Video compliant MPEG when authoring. It re-encodes the edits only. I can't say if Womble has this distinction or not, but it's important to have if you want to maintain max PQ. It also lets you change aspect flags without re-encoding.FWIW, VideoRedo also re-encodes the edit points only and passes through the rest unchanged.


I also wouldn't use Nero for anything. It re-encodes everything, and not very well. TMPGEnc will also separately import each session from a RAM (VR) disc.I'd agree that Nero sucks as an editor but, as far as I can tell, it does not re-encode DVD-compliant MPEG files (such as those produced by VideoRedo) when used as an authoring tool. (Of course, this assumes that everything will fit on a DVD and does not need to be compressed.)

I'll have to take another look at TMPGEnc, since it sounds like it may be a good all-in-one solution. When I last tried it a few years ago, it was more expensive and less easy to use (as an editor) than VideoRedo. (I also wasn't thrilled about the need for periodic license validations over the internet, which I gather is still a "feature".)

Since all of these products offer free trials, it definitely makes sense to try each of them to see which one you like the best.

Tony

Mike99 - VOB2MPG is a freeware tool that allows you to import the VOBs into a single mpeg file per title. I've used it for over a year now with success.

It seems like allot of work and all the re-recording may have an affect on the picture quality. I have several stand-alone hard drive recorders, Panasonic and Pioneer, and they include excellent programs for editing. Deleting commercials, dividing programs and recording several episodes onto a single DVD- or + r is a breeze.

The source program can be recorded to the drive in SP, for high quality, and dubbed in flexible recording to ensure picture quality. A large file can easily be divided and titled for separate recording to a DVD.

As an example, I recently recorded 10 episodes of "Deadliest Catch". After deleting the commercials I divided and labeled each episode. The finished episodes were dubbed to 3 DVD-R's. Since the source was recored from DirecTV HD the dubbing resulted in excellent video.

I just finished "When we left Earth" and it came out really good.

I use inkjet printable DVD-R's so the finished product has a commercial quality look to it.

It seems like allot of work and all the re-recording may have an affect on the picture quality. [...] The source program can be recorded to the drive in SP, for high quality, and dubbed in flexible recording to ensure picture quality.

If by that process you are dubbing in real time, then you are in fact reencoding your files, with a resulting loss in quality, whereas many of the applications mentioned above do not reencode, so there is no loss in quality.

I have 2 Panasonic recorders, but neither one has a hard drive. If they come out with one with a digital tuner I would buy it.

I have edited a DVD-RAM disc on the Panny, but it sure was not the easiest or most precise. I'd have to presume a Panny with a hard drive would be easier going by what I hear.

Currently I'm trying a second editing program, VideoReDo TVSuite, on my PC. So far it seems to work well. And like the first program tried, I can do frame accurate editing. It has it's own burning engine & does not use Nero, per the VideoReDo people.

I still have to try TMPGEnc Author. Their web site says the trial version is not full featured, and that "Project files cannot be read or saved." I don't know if that means you cannot burn a DVD-R or not. If I can't save to a DVD-R, then the trial is not too helpful as I would need to try playing the disc in my DVD player/recorder. But I will find out shortly.

snip.....
I still have to try TMPGEnc Author. Their web site says the trial version is not full featured, and that "Project files cannot be read or saved." I don't know if that means you cannot burn a DVD-R or not. If I can't save to a DVD-R, then the trial is not too helpful as I would need to try playing the disc in my DVD player/recorder. But I will find out shortly.

Yes, you can burn a DVD with the trial version. You just cannot close the program down and reopen the project later for further editing. You would have to start over from scratch.

I highly recommend the program. I use it almost every day. The monthly "internet license validation" is a little annoying, but since I plan on keeping the internet, and it only takes a few seconds on my dial-up connection, I can live with it.
-Bill